Marten Yachts making waves on world yachting scene

by Colin Patterson on 26 Nov 2007 It was the race that demoralised the fleet. This year’s Rolex Middle Sea Race saw conditions that were so horrendous that just 12 yachts out of a total of 55 entries completed the 607 nm course.

But Marten Yachts had something to be proud of: two of their boats were among the final 12 finishers in the highly rated offshore classic. The Reichel Pugh designed Marten 49 ‘Vineta’ raced into second in her division with an impressive third overall in IRC while the Judel Vrolijk designed custom Marten 66 ‘Rubino’ came in sixth.

Even more impressive was that the 49 foot Vineta was being sailed through the thunderstorms, hail and wind squalls by a young crew, many of who were recruited from the NRV youth program. NRV (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein) is a Hamburg based sailing program which owner Felix Scheder-Biechin ran for over ten years. The veteran offshore racer joked that nowadays he is slowing down a bit but still harboured a burning desire to compete in this particular event.

‘I have wanted to participate in the Rolex Middle Sea Race for a long time, but have never managed it. I've done the Buenos Aires - Rio, two or three transatlantics and the Hong Kong Challenge round the world race. So quite a number of thousand miles.’

'The (Rolex) course is very interesting, particular passing through the Messina Straits. We have done some cruising over by Trapani and then near Stromboli in the last month…the Aeolian Islands are very, very picturesque. This was a gap in my yachting life that I have filled in now.'

Vineta’s performance deserves further credit: she was only beaten by the water ballasted 90 foot Reichel Pugh Super Maxi ‘Rambler’, formerly Neville Crichton’s Alfa Romeo , and an Open 40 ‘Roaring Forty’ (1st in the Class 2 division.) The Marten 49 is designed specifically as a performance cruiser and so to be beaten by top class racing yachts is nothing to be ashamed of..
Rubino is a custom built Marten 66 and owner Thomas Streit is pleased with his boat’s ability to handle the tough conditions during this year’s race.

Marten Yachts is now an Australian export success story with most of their Reichel Pugh designed 49s delivered to Europe, UK and New Zealand. The thirteenth boat has just been earmarked with a holding deposit firmly in place and the two 49s currently under construction at Marten Yachts Nowra facility are destined to stay in Australia.

‘Carrera’, the Marten 49 owned by New Zealand’s John Meadowcroft, raced at this year’s Hamilton Island Race Week and then spent some time cruising the Whitsundays before returning to her home across the Tasman. The sleek blue hulled thoroughbred drew many admirers to her berth at the quiet end of the Hamilton Island marina. And she also impressed on the race course, finishing second overall in the Premier IRC class.

When Australian-based Azzura Marine added the Marten Yachts brand to its family in 2005, the range included Reichel Pugh designs for a Marten 49, Marten 67, Marten 72 and Marten 85.

The 49 and the 72 have been successfully launched and now Marten Yachts are set to add a new boat to their range. A contract has just been signed with a European client for the construction of the first Marten 67 with an anticipated launch date of early 2009.

Sales Manager for Marten Yachts, Jason Rowed, commented: 'This is an exciting time for Marten Yachts. I believe that we are handling a very special range indeed and launching a 67 is going to add to the overwhelming interest that has already been generated globally by the Marten 49.'

Azzura Marine Director Iain Murray agreed that the construction of the 67 is an exciting development for the company.

'Signing the 67 is an important step for Azzura Marine and Marten Yachts.’

'It’s an extraordinary yacht and constructing it will be some of the most experienced guys in the business. They are going to relish the opportunity to work on this phenomenal design and I really can’t wait to see the end result.'

With an upwind sail plan providing 249 sqm combined with a displacement of 23,3000kg, the Marten 67 delivers an impressive displacement to length Ratio of 102.51. On this base of power, Marten adds state of the art build techniques, innovative hull design and super light strength materials. The result will be a yacht with race performance that still maintains strong blue water cruising capability.

Business Development Manager for Azzura Marine, Heidi Gordon, said: 'The Marten 67 is destined to exceed the expectations of the most discerning owners and will be one of the most rational decisions that their heart will ever make.'

It’s not just good looks which have made the range something of a modern icon; a significant number of design innovations developed by Marten Yachts make them not only pretty but smart. These innovations include a brilliant foldaway anchor system which leaves clean the elegant line of the nearly plumb bow; the anchor is completely hidden under the deck when the boat is underway.

Carrera’s owner John Meadowcroft described the novel anchor system: ‘It really goes along with the whole theme of the boat…streamlined and efficient. It just looks so great. A lot of people commented on it. They’d say ‘where’s your anchor?’ and we’d flick it out.’

Other design innovations developed by Marten Yachts include: carbon fibre hull, bulkheads and deck; lightweight internal doors and cabinetry, hydraulic lifting keel, below deck lines, retractable carbon bow prod and Marten flush hatches.

This tradition of innovative design looks set to continue in the Marten 67. Specifications indicate that owners can look forward to a blue water cruising yacht designed to be a fast passage maker and a winner on the race track. If the performance of Marten range to date is anything to go by, the 67 will also have staying power when it counts.

For further information or images of Marten Yachts visit:
http://www.martenyachts.com

or please contact:

Jason Rowed or Heidi Gordon
Marten Yachts Pty Ltd. Azzura Marine
T: +61 2 9552 1133 T: +61 2 9552 1133
F: +61 2 9552 1100 F: +61 2 9552 1100
jrowed@martenyachts.com hgordon@azzuramarine.com

Marten Yachts appointed distributor for the UK and Europe:
Ancasta International Boat Sales
T: +44 0 23 8045 0000
F: +44 0 23 8045 4576
yachts@ancasta.com